


You Wrote Your Way into My Heart

by elsie_noir



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Is Not Oblivious, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Aged-Up Character(s), Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Is Not Oblivious, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27449998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsie_noir/pseuds/elsie_noir
Summary: Marinette was reevaluating her life choices.  How had she gotten to this moment; the moment where Adrien was currently asking her if she would discuss the latest update on the reader/ladybug fanfic.  The one she had written.  The one she had originally written as Adrien Agreste/Ladybug.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 17
Kudos: 80
Collections: The Palette Cleanse Challenge of November 2020





	You Wrote Your Way into My Heart

Marinette was reevaluating her life choices. How had she gotten to this moment; the moment where Adrien was currently asking her if she would discuss the latest update on  _ the _ reader/ladybug fanfic. The one she had written. The one she had originally written as Adrien Agreste/Ladybug. Oh, this was  _ so _ embarrassing; it was perhaps the first and only time she wished for hawkmoth to send out an akuma so she can escape the situation she found herself in. Maybe a large hole will open up underneath her desk and swallow her whole instead.

“Umm, Marinette… can we talk about your chapter 2?” Adrien innocently inquired again. It was obvious that he wanted to discuss the new developments with her. How did he know she had written the story? Why did he want to talk about it with her? Did he know she was Ladybug?! The intrusive negative thoughts continued. Why couldn’t she make her voice respond? She had to escape. All she could manage was an awkward squeak as she quickly ran off to the girls room to calm herself.

“Oh Tikki, what have I done?” Marinette sighed heavily. “I told you not to publish that story. You  _ know _ you are risking your identity. And, if you don’t get back soon you are going to get detention again for being late to class.” Tikki scolded. Marinette splashed her face with some cold water from the sink, took a few deep breaths, and turned to walk as confidently as was possible given the turmoil grinding violently inside of her chest back to her seat in Ms. Bustier’s classroom. 

Just as Marinette walked through the door, the bell rang. Saved by the bell, she thought. She really didn’t want to talk about her writing with  _ him. _ Why was he reading Ladybug fanfiction anyway? Didn’t he have enough to keep himself busy without finding her fic through some enormous stroke of bad luck? Aren’t I supposed to have good luck? she pondered. It was the end of class before Marinette snapped out of her spiralling thoughts, as she heard her name.

“Mari...Earth to Marinette” Alya called, “What is with you today?” “Oh, you know, the same old thing,” Marinette chuckled nervously as they walked together to their lockers. She was supposed to be over her crush on Adrien; supposed to have moved on, and Alya knew about all of her hard work with her therapist to get to this point. But, she couldn’t confide in Alya of all people about her secret identity possibly being compromised because the fanfiction she had foolishly published wasn’t just an adventure in writing, but rather some of her therapy work under the guise of Ladybug fanfiction. She couldn’t just tell her that she had risked everything she had worked so hard to protect for four years because she had published her work at Alya’s urging. 

“Girl, you can’t not share this with the world,” Alya had said after she found the file on Marinette’s computer. “Everyone should be able to imagine themselves being friends with Ladybug, and your portrayal is so … realistic. I could really see Ladybug saying and doing all of these things.” Only Alya didn’t know that the first version of this work was therapy. That it hadn’t been a Ladybug reader insert, but her _ , Marinette her _ , feelings about Adrien that she was spilling onto the page. It had felt so good to get everything out and visualize the healthy friendship she was trying to convince herself that she desired. At least Alya had only read chapter 1, and it  _ had _ described that healthy friendship. So, she hadn’t been too embarrassed when she realized what Alya had read. And, having a great writer like Alya be so impressed with her vision of friendship and Ladybug, well, that had been a boost to her confidence. 

But...it should have been a red flag that Alya thought it was so realistic. It was too late now. Her innermost thoughts and feelings about the handsome boy she had loved for so long were public. And, it wouldn’t have been so bad if she had just stopped at chapter 1. Why had she allowed Alya to goad her into publishing an update? And, now that it was occuring to her that Alya had probably recommended the story to Nino and Adrien, she was dying a little inside at her raw vulnerability on display for her friends to casually discuss. That was a thought for another time, Marinette decided. She tried to focus on what Alya was saying so she wouldn’t have to run away from this conversation, too.

“Aww, Mari, try not to beat yourself up about it. You will have good days and bad days, but I can see the progress you’ve made. Today was the first time I can remember you squeaking at Adrien in months,” Alya said comfortingly as she hugged Marinette tightly to herself. “I know,” Marinette said. “I don't know what got into me this morning either. Maybe it's just because I’m so tired.” Alya looked her in the eyes as she let her go, “Promise me you’ll try to get more rest, Marinette. No project is worth you looking so exhausted all the time.” Marinette looked away. She couldn’t just get more rest, not with hawkmoth sending out so many nighttime akumas lately, so she would have to lie to her best friend again instead. “I will,” Marinette said softly. 

The two girls walked to their next class in comfortable silence. Marinette was grateful Alya didn’t push her for more like she usually did. She must not have read the update yet. Alya would have pushed her for all the “deets” if she had. Marinette also was thankful that she didn’t have another class with Adrien until last period. Maybe he will have moved on from wanting to discuss her fic by that point. A girl could always hope. Anyway, it wasn’t like Adrien knew Ladybug all that well; after all she had only saved him a handful of times. If I can keep my emotions in check, she thought, it really shouldn’t give away my identity  _ or _ the fact that chapter 2 had begun a flashback arc, she ominously thought, to work out all of the “inappropriate” desires she’d had - past tense, right? - for her very good friend. 

But, she never got the chance to see if any of her anxious thoughts would betray her because just before physics was to begin, the akuma alert had sounded, and she’d had to fulfil her duty to the citizens of Paris. Marinette had just slipped through her bedroom skylight when her transformation dropped. She was tired. More than tired, exhausted in fact, physically and mentally. The burden of being the guardian on top of her responsibilities as Ladybug was really getting to her. Marinette felt the whole of Paris was on her shoulders, and she’d have to bear the burden alone. Sure, Chat tried his best to be supportive, and he really was the best partner Ladybug could have even hoped for, but he couldn’t know how tough it was on her. Not really anyway because he didn’t know who she truly was. Plain old Marinette, she thought. “Ughh, why did Master Fu think this was a good idea?” she sighed as she pulled the covers up to her chin and snuggled into her fluffy cat pillow. Maybe after a little nap she would feel better she thought as her heavy eyelids drifted shut.

Marinette was glad her parents had just let her sleep. She had obviously needed it because now it was morning and she’d not woken up at all until the sunlight streaming through the skylight kissed her face. Now, though, she was famished. She kissed her parents on her way through the bakery to grab a box for some breakfast. “Feel better this morning, macaron?” her papa asked as she loaded up her box with a little of everything on display. “We called for you at dinner, but when you didn’t stir, we thought you could use the sleep.” he said. “Thanks, Papa, I am,” Marinette replied as she carefully nestled a passion fruit croustade into the box for Adrien. Just a pastry for a very good friend, she thought to herself as she headed off to school.

When she arrived on campus at her Lycée, she saw Alya, Nino, and Adrien already chatting amongst themselves at one of the picnic tables on the front commons. “Good morning,” Marinette greeted them brightly, “would you like some pastries? I have plenty to share.” “Yes, please!” Adrien excitedly bounced in his seat. Marinette laughed as she retrieved the pastry she had added especially for him and passed the box to Nino after grabbing one for herself as well. “Mmmmhh,” Adrien groaned as he took a bite. “Mon dieu, I love you Marinette.” She choked on her pain au chocolat. He doesn’t mean it that way. He doesn’t really love you, Marinette repeated to herself silently as she attempted to cover her choking with a cough. I thought I was over this. How can he still create so many butterflies in my stomach with just an offhand comment that he obviously didn’t mean?

Adrien was oblivious to Marinette’s state as usual, and turned to her with his megawatt smile and softly squeezed her shoulder as he thanked her for the treat. “So,” he continued, “can we talk about chapter 2, now? We never got the chance to discuss it yesterday, and I really wanted to hear what you were thinking about as you wrote it because it was such a change in tone from chapter 1.” “ Yes!” Alya exclaimed, “ I want all the deets on who you imagined as Ladybug’s crush.” Marinette shook her head to try to shake off the anxious thoughts creeping into her consciousness. They wouldn’t know chapter 2 was about the pure ray of sunshine sitting to her left. “Yeah, we can talk about it, but I didn’t really have anyone in mind,” she lied. “I mean, Ladybug is all business about her duty to the Parisians, she really doesn’t have time for romance, does she.” Adrien shook his head as he confidently replied with the full knowledge that Ladybug did in fact love a boy, “It’s true she takes her duty as Ladybug very seriously, but she  _ is _ a normal girl under the suit, surely she gets crushes just like the rest of us.” “Oh,  _ really _ , Agreste,” Alya jumped in, “so who is your crush?” Adrien began to turn the color of Ladybug’s suit. “Please don’t tell me you still have that huge crush on Ladybug,” Nino said, seemingly exasperated with his best friend. No wonder Adrien is so invested in her story Marinette thought, as the slowly dawning realization hit her that Adrien had a crush on her. Ladybug her. But still, her love was requited all along. 

Maybe it wasn’t’ too late to have her dream come true after all. Maybe after hawkmoth’s defeat they could be together. Maybe she wouldn’t always be alone. Wouldn’t have to shoulder the burden of being guardian on her own. Maybe she could test the waters with an even more intense chapter 3. She’d have to tweak what she’d already written, but it shouldn’t take too long, and she could update tonight. 

Adrien broke her out of her dreamy thoughts, as he questioned, “don’t you think so, Mari?” “I’m sorry, what was the question,” Marinette answered as her blush started to make her face feel as hot as the surface of the sun. “Ladybug must feel so lonely with all of the responsibility she carries. She deserves love and companionship too, don’t you think?” “Well of course she does” Marinette replied as they settled into a pleasant conversation about the superheroes of Paris. But, Marinette couldn’t help the strange feeling of deja vous creeping into her thoughts as they spoke. Hadn’t she just talked with Chat about feeling alone? But how would Adrien know about any of that? However, she couldn’t worry about that too much when Adrien was listening to her opinions with such rapt attention. The two were so engrossed in conversation that they didn't even notice Alya and Nino leaving for class until the bell rang and startled them out of their familiar banter.

Marinette and Adrien ran to class, apologizing to Mrs. Bustier as they took their seats. Tomorrow morning I’ll have more clarity on Adrien, Marinette thought to herself as she doodled in her notebook. Chapter 2 had only really hinted at her romantic feelings. It was fluffy to be sure, but it could easily be interpreted as just a passing infatuation, a silly crush, as Adrien had implied earlier. She would make sure that chapter 3 showed her true love for him, full of passion and undying commitment to his happiness. 

Could I be so lucky as to have a real chance with Adrien? Marinette idly dreamed, but quickly pushed those thoughts and feelings as far back into her subconscious as she could. She couldn’t live on what ifs. Her situation hadn’t really changed. Adrien doesn’t have a crush on Marinette her, and he probably never would. Moreover, Chat and Ladybug might never defeat hawkmoth, and she wasn’t willing to put others in danger by revealing her identity until there was no longer a threat. But, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking, if Adrien really had true feelings for Ladybug, they were sure to come out after he read her update. She had no idea how prophetic those thoughts would be.

Later that afternoon, as Marinette was revising chapter 3, she was using her usual process of writing Adrien/Ladybug. She could easily replace all of the Adrien’s with (y/n) by using search and replace later. What she didn’t realize and what her spell check and her re-read didn’t catch was the one misspelled “Adrian.” So, when Marinette posted the update and began working on her latest sewing project, she was completely unconcerned about her story. Marinette would worry about Adrien’s reaction in the morning, she’d convinced herself. So, it was with surprise that when her phone started ringing, she noticed Adrien’s contact picture showing.

Marinette took a calming deep breath, and prepared to answer the phone. This was just her very good friend, who probably had a question about their homework assignment or something like that. He probably hadn’t even read the update, yet. “Bon soir, Adrien,” she said as the phone began to display his video feed. “I think we need to talk,” Adrien said nervously and Marinette’s heart shot up into her throat. She managed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes as she schooled her voice to sound as natural as possible, “about what?” “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, but well, as I was reading your update, I realized I needed to ask you something important. And ..., he said with a sigh, you may want to pull the update down after you hear what I have to say.” “Go on,” Marinette croaked through her increasingly parched throat. “Marinette, do you um, … do you have feelings for me?” Marinette’s eyes shot open as wide as possible as she squeaked and sputtered a bit before eaking out, “why do you ask?” “Because…” Adrien tried to explain delicately, “there is a line in your story where you don’t have Ladybug confessing her feelings to the reader.” Now Marinette was just confused. “What do you mean? Of course Ladybug is talking to the imaginary reader of the story. And what does that have anything to do with what you just asked me?” Marinette questioned as she was barely containing her panic. 

But, what she wasn’t prepared for, was for Adrien to say, “because in your story, Ladybug, who I’m assuming at this point represents you, confesses her love to me. Adrien.” After that there was a long silence as Marinette tried to fight the urge to just hang up the phone and immediately leave the country. How had this happened? She was panicking, but she realized Adrien was still waiting on a response, so she drew in a deep breath and asked, “why would you assume Ladybug represents me?” “Wait,” Adrien replied, “aren’t you going to answer my question? And, I assumed that because your Ladybug seems awfully similar to you, Mari. But, its okay if you don’t like  _ like _ me. I just thought if you did maybe we could go out for some coffee or something, sometime. And…, now I’m rambling. Marinette, please stop me now. Say something.” Marinette couldn’t believe her ears, had Adrien really wanted to ask her on a DATE? “Cc...coffee ss...sounds good,” is all she could manage in reply. “Great!” Adrien beamed at her with a real smile that almost no one truly got to see. “How about tomorrow after school? My photoshoot got postponed and Nathalie says I’m free until six.” “Yes… um, coffee, tomorrow… after school, yeah.” Marinette replied as she felt like she was literally floating on a cloud. “See you tomorrow”, Adrien winked as he said his goodbyes and they ended the call. 

Marinette quickly came down from cloud nine when she realized that she needed to take down that update NOW and fix it before anyone else could read her actual love confession. The last thing she needed was for people to start thinking that Ladybug was in love with Adrien Agreste. And, perhaps now it wouldn’t matter that Ladybug  _ was  _ in love with him. Maybe, Marinette let her heart hope, Adrien would love Marinette her as much as he seemed to love Ladybug her. After all we are the same person, she thought longingly. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by fanart and discussion on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord. Its a fun and friendly space. If you would like to join us, this is your invitation.  
> [join us today](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks)


End file.
